Leptotyphlops

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Superfamilia: Typhlopoidea

Familia: Leptotyphlopidae
Genus: Leptotyphlops
Species (21): L. aethiopicus – L. conjunctus – L. distanti – L. emini – L. howelli – L. incognitus – L. jacobseni – L. kafubi – L. keniensis – L. latirostris – L. macrops – L. mbanjensis – L. merkeri – L. nigricans – L. nigroterminus – L. pembae – L. pitmani – L. pungwensis – L. scutifrons – L. sylvicolus – L. telloi

Name

Leptotyphlops Fitzinger, 1843: 24 [conserved name]

Type species: Typhlops nigricans Schlegel, 1839, by original designation.

Placed on the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology by Opinion 1207 (1982).
Synonyms

Glauconia Gray, 1845: 139

Type species: Typhlops nigricans Schlegel, 1839, by monotypy.
References
Primary references

Fitzinger, L. 1843. Systema Reptilium. Fasciculus primus. Amblyglossae. Braumüller et Seidel: Wien. vi + 106 pp. BHL Reference page.
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. 1982. Opinion 1207. Leptotyphlops and Ramphotyphlops Fitzinger, 1843 (Reptilia, Serpentes): conserved. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 39(2): 106–108. BHL Reference page.

Additional references

Broadley, D.G. & Wallach, V. 2007. A revision of the genus Leptotyphlops in northeastern Africa and southwestern Arabia (Serpentes, Leptotyphlopidae). Zootaxa 1408: 1–78. Abstract & excerpt. Reference page.
Adalsteinsson, S.A., Branch, W.R., Trape, S., Vitt, L.J. & Hedges, S.B. 2009. Molecular phylogeny, classification, and biogeography of snakes of the Family Leptotyphlopidae (Reptilia, Squamata). Zootaxa 2244: 1–50. Abstract & excerpt. Reference page.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2022. Leptotyphlops . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 21 April 2018.

Vernacular names
čeština: Slepan

Leptotyphlops is a genus of nonvenomous blind snakes, commonly known as slender blind snakes and threadsnakes,[2] in the family Leptotyphlopidae. The genus is endemic to and found throughout Africa. 11 species have been moved to the genus Trilepida, and other species have been moved to the genera Epacrophis, Epictia, Mitophis, Myriopholis, Namibiana, Rena, Siagonodon, Tetracheilostoma, and Tricheilostoma.

Description

Most species of Leptotyphlops look much like shiny earthworms. They are pink or brown, and their scales give them a segmented appearance. Other species are black in color, but have the same general body structure. Their common name comes from the fact that their eyes are greatly reduced almost to the point of uselessness, and hidden behind a protective head scale. The species which are called thread snakes are so named because of their very narrow, long bodies.
Behavior

All blind snakes including those of the genus Leptotyphlops are burrowing snakes, spending most of their time deep in loose soil, typically only emerging when it rains and they get flooded out.
Diet

The primary diet of Leptotyphlops is ant and termite larvae.
Species

Species[2]	Taxon author[2]	Subsp.*[2]	Common name	Geographic range
Leptotyphlops aethiopicus[3]	Broadley & Wallach, 2007
Leptotyphlops conjunctus	(Jan, 1861)	3	Cape thread snake
Leptotyphlops distanti	(Boulenger, 1892)	0	Distant's blind snake
Leptotyphlops emini	(Boulenger, 1890)	0	Emin Pasha's worm snake
Leptotyphlops howelli [3]	Broadley & Wallach, 2007
Leptotyphlops incognitus[3]	Broadley & Watson, 1976
Leptotyphlops jacobseni [3]	Broadley & S. Broadley, 1999
Leptotyphlops kafubi [3]	(Boulenger, 1919)
Leptotyphlops keniensis[3]	Broadley & Wallach, 2007
Leptotyphlops latirostris[3]	(Sternfeld, 1912)
Leptotyphlops macrops	Broadley & Wallach, 1996	0	goggle-eyed worm snake
Leptotyphlops mbanjensis[3]	Broadley & Wallach, 2007
Leptotyphlops merkeri [3]	(F. Werner, 1909)
Leptotyphlops nigricansT	(Schlegel, 1839)	0	black thread snake
Leptotyphlops nigroterminus[3]	Broadley & Wallach, 2007
Leptotyphlops pembae[3]	Loveridge, 1941
Leptotyphlops pitmani [3]	Broadley & Wallach, 2007
Leptotyphlops pungwensis[3]	Broadley & Wallach, 1997
Leptotyphlops scutifrons	(W. Peters, 1854)	0	Peters's thread snake
Leptotyphlops sylvicolus[3]	Broadley & Wallach, 1997
Leptotyphlops telloi	Broadley & Watson, 1976	0	Tello's thread snake	-

-

*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
T) Type species.
References

McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
"Leptotyphlops". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
"Leptotyphlops" . The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.